Get Back the Light of Mind
by Ormandria
Summary: A young woman is hearing voices and seeing ghosts. But are they real? And can the Get Backers retrieve her sanity before it's too late?
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Get Backers or any of the characters associated with it, save those I have created myself. This fanfic is based on the anime series (as I have not read the manga, yet)._

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Minomi Sakuwai looked down the hill at the mansion sprawled out before her. After searching with her binoculars for a few minutes she found what she had been seeking out. The girl was young, seventeen at the oldest. Her long black hair waved out behind her as she suddenly clutched a hands to her ears in a panic.

"Damn," Sakuwai muttered to herself. Someone was getting to the girl, and she still had not figured out how they were doing it. The protector brushed her graying hair out of her eyes as she dropped the binoculars down without taking her eyes off the mansion in the distance.

Professionally she was known as "La Gardienne," stemming from her many years in France where she originally went to school as a young girl. She had fallen in love with the French language and culture, and had been unable to stop herself from bringing that flavor of life into her career as a protector.

"Is everything all right, Master?" asked the young red-haired girl beside her. Her name was Hieko Aiyana, and she was Sakuwai's apprentice. Aiyana clutched the manilla folder in her arms, waiting anxiously for her trusted teacher to say something.

"She's hearing the voices again," Sakuwai said as she eyed the item her protege held. "Is that the information I requested?"

"Aye," The younger woman replied, handing it to Sakuwai. The protector opened the folder and began flipping through the files within.

"Dossiers on the Get Backers and everyone they have worked with within the last two years," Aiyana continued. "I even included Akabane Kurudo, though I wouldn't suggest using him. If you notice he tends to be a bit ..."

"Psychotic?" Sakuwai interrupted.

"Um. Yes," Aiyana smirked. "Although the others do appear to have good heads on their shoulders. There's one in there, Fuyuki Shido ..."

"That's alright." The protecter held her hand up to stop further explanation. She gazed at the file photo staring back up at her. It was a young man in his mid-twenties with a crop of thick brown air and small grandmother sunglasses. If the name on the dossier had not been a dead giveaway the picture would have. She knew this man and his reputation. _'Yes,'_ she thought to herself. _'He will do nicely.'_

"I've made up my mind. I want the Get Backers. The rest are of no concern to me."

"Are you sure Master?" Aiyana asked as she took the file folder back. "The others..."

"The others do not have a one-hundred percent success rate, now do they?"

The young woman sighed and hung her head. "No, I suppose they don't."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Aiya," Sakuwai smiled. "I know you wish to protect this girl as much as I do. That is why we must step carefully. We do not wish to attract too much attention to ourselves after all." She paused for a brief moment to look down at the mansion in the distance.

" Besides," she continued. "It is very plausible that these Get Backers might decide to take on additional help themselves."

"Yes, Master," Aiyana nodded as her gaze fell back to the mansion as well. In the distance both could see the young girl being ushered into the house by a frantic looking driver. Aiyana's grip on the folder tighten as she sent a silent prayer to Buddha to keep the girl safe. She wasn't an overly religious person as it were, but for this, she was more then happy to make the exception.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **_So there is no confusion, I thought I should mention that I am doing names in the Japanese style of Last Name First and First Name Last. I am doing this because I watched the entire series in Japanese with Subtitles and have just gotten too use to the names being used like that in this particular series. So it is just easier for me to do the same thing in the fanfic. Now you know;-) **Oh, and I do NOT own Get Backers, or anything associated with it, save for the new characters that I have supplied for this fanfic.**_

"That's mine!" Ginji whined as Ban took the last slice of pizza that sat before them. He tried to reach over and grab it, but Ban kept him at bay with one hand while stuffing the slice into his mouth with the other. When he had finished swallowing it down, he merely laughed at the down-hearted look on Ginji's face.

"Oh, stop being such a baby," he snorted. "Order some more if your that hungry."

"You can't," Paul interrupted from his place at the bar. He was reading the newspaper, like always, and didn't not even bother to look up at Ban or Ginji. "You owe too much. You'll need to pay your tab before I let you have anymore food. Right Natsumi?"

"Right!" said the waitress happily. Ban and Ginji both took up shouts of protest at this as the door to the restaurant opened and a young woman with short black hair entered. The pair continued to argue with Paul over the tab, ignoring the newcomer totally.

"Welcome to the Honkey Tonk!" Natsumi bowed in greeting. "How may I help you?"

The woman nodded her head in return. Her bright green eyes took in the scene around her before she spoke.

"I'm looking for the Get Backers?" she inquired. "But am I to assume that they aren't in at the moment?"

"We're here!" Ban and Ginji shouted in unison as soon as they heard their names mentioned. Ban quickly pushed Ginji back and took a more serious pose, pulling down his sunglasses just enough to look at the woman before him.

"I'm Mido Ban and this is Amano Ginji of the Get Backers. How can we be of assistance."

The woman raised her eyebrow in suspicion. She looked at Natsumi who nodded affirmatively and then brought her attention back to the pair of retrievers.

"My name is Toru Kanake, and I would like to hire you for a retrieval job. If that's alright with you?"

"Of course!" blurted Ginji, while Ban retorted "How much does it pay?"

"Three million yen," she replied. Ban nodded and pointed toward their usual booth.

"In that case, please, have a seat Miss Kanake and tell us what you need retrieved." He let Ginji enter the booth first and then sat next to him as they faced the woman. Natsumi placed some tea on the table for Kanake before going back to her usual chores.

Kanake pulled out an envelope and handed it to Ban. He opened it up and let fall a series of photographs. Each photo was of a young girl in her late teens. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes. Some of the photos seemed to have been taken from a distance, while others were close-up portrait shots. Natsumi

"Her name is Jando Yusagi. She's my niece," Kanake explained.

"Was she kidnapped?" Ginji asked as he picked up the photos to examine. He found himself hoping the answer was no. She looked like she was the same age as Natsumi and the thought of similarity between the two girls was enough to bother him severely. Especially since he consider Natsumi a close friend and couldn't even begin to imagine what he or Ban would do if anything bad ever happened to her.

"No," Kanake shook her head. Ginji sighed in relief while Ban continued to regard the woman. She lowered her head a little as she leafed through the photos on the table. "It's worse then that. She's going insane."

"What?" Ginji looked up, startled.

"I want you to retrieve her sanity," Kanake stated bluntly.

"I don't think so," Ban muttered as he pushed the photos back. Kanake and Ginji both looked up in surprise.

"Ban!" Ginji whispered in his friends ear. "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious!" he sneered. "We aren't taking the job."

"Why not?" Kanake asked. "Please! You must take this job!"

"Why must we take it? You haven't even spoken to the girl, much less had anything real to do with her in what? Years? So why do you care now if she is going insane?" Ban glared at Kanake and watched as she shied away from him in guilty submission.

"I don't think I understand," Ginji broke in.

"These shots are all portrait or long shots," said Ban, eyeing Kanake cautiously. "They're the type that suggest that Miss Kanake here hasn't had any real contact with her niece in years."

"He's right," Kanake muttered as she wiped away a tear. "I haven't seen her in person in years. But it isn't my fault! I wanted to see her, but I wasn't allowed! Please, let me at least explain. Then if you still don't want the job, I'll leave."

"Please Ban-chan?" Ginji begged.

"Alright," Ban conceded. "Start at the beginning. and it had better be good."

"Very well." Kanake picked up a portrait of Yusagi in her high school uniform. "Yusagi's mother was my sister you see. Her name was Toru Kasumi. She married Jando Gieko when she was only twenty. She thought the world of him then. Little did she realize what a monster he would turn out to be."

"He hit her?" Ginji asked.

"No, not as such," Kanake replied. "But he was controlling and a few years later she discovered that he had some serious connections to an underground syndicate. By then though, she was pregnant and knew she couldn't leave him or he would kill her. So she stayed and Yusagi was born. Kasumi died when Yusagi was a child so Gieko was left to raise her alone. After that happened I was never allowed near the mansion or near Yusagi again. So I have been stuck watching from a distance."

"So what does this all have to do with retrieving her sanity?" Ban asked.

"Six months ago Gieko died under rather mysterious circumstances. Normally I would have been thrilled as I would be able to see my niece again, but even dead he continues to control the lives of those around him. If I go anywhere near her she will lose all her inheritance and thrown out on the street. You understand that I could never do that to my niece. So I took to watching her from a distance. Everything was fine at first. Until the voices started that is. I noticed that four months ago she started hearing voices in her head that no one else can hear. Two months ago she started seeing things as well." Kanake paused for a moment to compose herself.

"When Gieko died, and I first discovered the clause about my not being allowed to see her, I decided to track down a copy of his will and examine the rest of it. In it, he specifically states that Yusagi is only to receive her inheritance if I stay away and if she is of sound mind enough to take over his company by the time she reaches eighteen years of age. Which she will do in three months time."

"Except that she isn't of sound mind anymore," Ban finished for her. "I think I see where this is going. You suspect foul play in this, don't you?"

"Yes," Kanake replied, bowing her head once again. "I cannot bare to see my dear niece hurting in anyway. Please, I know it is asking a lot, but please give her her sanity back. I will even pay you four million yen. All I ask is that you do not let her know what is going on and that you don't mention to anyone that I was the one that hired you. If someone is tricking her, then I don't want them to realize that anyone is on to them or they may do something drastic. And I couldn't bare it if they did."

"Please Ban, we should take this one. Can't you see how sad and worried she is?" Ginji whispered.

"Four million yen, eh?" Ban remarked. "Alright, it's a deal. You've just hired the Get Backers. Now tell us where to find Miss Yusagi and we'll get to work."

"Yay Ban-chan!" Ginji shouted.

"Here is the address." Kanake grabbed a piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Ban. He read the address and stood up.

"Come on Ginji," he said. "The sooner we get this job done, the sooner we can eat again."

"Coming Ban-chan." The two left as the woman remained seated, sipping her drink. Only a few moments had passed when the door opened again.

"Hevn!" Natsumi exclaimed in excitement as a tall buxom blonde entered the restaurant.

"Hello Natsumi," the blonde returned. "Are the boys here?"

"No. You just missed them. They've gone out on a job. Why?"

"Oh damn!" she stomped her foot in frustration. "I had a job for them and it was a good one too. Oh well, it can't be helped can it?"

"I suppose not," replied Natsumi.

"You can call one of the others," Paul suggested from behind his newspaper.

"Looks like I'm going to have to. It's probably more up their alley anyway, now that I think about it. More of a protection job then a retrieval." Hevn took out her phone and started dialing.

"If that's the case, why were you wanting them in the first place?" Paul asked, intrigued.

"It was specifically requested, that if they were available, I get them actually," she turned from Paul as she heard someone pick up the phone on the other end. "Hello, Madoka? It's Hevn. Is Shido around? Thanks!" There was a long pause as Paul went back to his reading.

"Shido? It's Hevn. I have a job for you and Kazuki if you're interested. A girl. She needs some protection. Her name is Jando Yusagi." Paul put his paper down slightly to look from Hevn to Kanake, who remained still, save for the occasional calm sip of tea. He listened as Hevn gave the rest of the information concerning the job to Shido and thanked him. When she got off the phone she turned toward Paul and Natsumi.

"Well, let the guys know they missed out on a big one," she remarked as she left. "Thanks you guys!"

"No problem," Paul called after her.

"You're welcome," Natsumi returned.

Kanake waited a few moments before digging into her purse and pulling out a small white envelope and her wallet. She walked up to Paul and smiled as he put his paper down.

"Excuse me," she started. "But when I came in, I couldn't help over hearing that Mister Ban and Mister Ginji owe you money for their tab? Could you please tell me how much it is?"

"I don't see why not," shrugged Paul. "It's currently at three hundred fifty thousand, eight hundred and sixty yen."

"I see. Well then, this should cover it and then some." Kanake pulled out four hundred thousand yen and handed it to Paul. "For their tab. And this," she slid the envelop across the bar. "Should cover their fee. Please see that they get it."

"Are you sure you want to pay before the job is done?" he asked.

"I don't see why not. They do have a one hundred percent success rate, don't they?" Kanake asked innocently.

"Yes, they do," returned Paul. Kanake smiled even more.

"Then there should be no problem. Thank you for your time." With that Kanake left. Paul pulled the envelope closer to him and noted the small drawing of a single yellow rose on the upper right-hand corner, before putting it in a drawer for Ban and Ginji. he shook his head in amazement.

"Looks like things are about to get interesting," he remarked to Natsumi.

"You can say that again," the young girl smiled.

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Hieko Aiyana walked for several blocks. When she was positive that no one had followed her from the Honkey Tonk, she dipped lightly into an alley and pulled off the short, black wig she wore. Pulling out her own phone she quickly dialed a familiar number.

"Master Sakuwai? It's me," she spoke into the device. "There seems to be a slight complication. Someone else has hired some protectors for the girl. No ma'am. Nothing I can't handle. Yes, I will. Thank you. Good bye." Aiyana put the phone away and began the long walk home. This was going to take some serious thought on her part.


	3. Chapter 2

Kenjiro Ryano rose from her seat on the couch, where she had been waiting since she received the phone call from Hevn, informing her that the protecters would be by within the next few hours. They weren't the Get Backers, like Ryano would have preferred, but Hevn had said they were just as good.

Ryano had a particular reason for requesting the Get Backers. They had, at one time, helped her mother recover a very valuable necklace from a gang of vicious thugs. That had been quite a while ago, but the memory of it had stuck in her head. So, naturally, when she needed help, they had been the first ones to pop into her head. She called her mother right away and gotten Hevn's phone number so that she could try to reach them.

However, if Hevn was right, which Ryano saw no reason why she wouldn't be, then these two that would be coming would do just as well at the task she needed them to do. She quickly made her way to the door, waving away the butler that had been headed that way himself.

"I've got it, Takei."

"Yes, Miss Kenjiro," he bowed, leaving the room. Ryano opened the door and was slightly disappointed to see a man and woman, rather then the two men she had been expecting. Obviously these were not the hired help she had called for. Ever the lady though, she put on her best smile.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"We're here to see a Miss Kenjiro," said the man. He was a muscular man, wearing a white shirt and black pants. A headband was wrapped around his forehead, keeping his thick black hair out of his eyes. The woman wore a longer and looser white shirt with blue pants underneath. Her long brown hair hung straight down her back, save for two sections tied with string in the front that framed her beautiful face.

"I'm Miss Kenjiro," Ryano responded. Try as she might she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the woman. There was something odd about her, but for the life of her, Ryano couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Ah. Miss Kenjiro, I am Fuyuki Shido and this is Fuchion Kazuki. Hevn sent us."

Ryano looked taken aback a moment, but quickly regained her composure. "Oh, I'm sorry. Please come in." She stood aside so the pair could enter. "Forgive my rudeness, but I was lead to believe that you were both men."

Shido and Kazuki paused inside the door. Kazuki turned to face her with a radiant smile.

"I am a man," he laughed. Ryano flushed a violent red and bowed so deeply that her head nearly reached her knees.

"Oh, I am so sorry! Please forgive me!"

"It's alright," said Kazuki light-heartedly. "Many people make that mistake."

"But it was terrible of me, and I should not have made such a mistake," Ryano continued in a slight panic. The last thing she needed was for these two to become angry with her and leave. Kazuki gently laid a hand on her shoulder and as Ryano looked up at his serene, smiling face, she saw that he truly was not bothered in the least.

"It's alright," he repeated. Ryano sighed in relief.

"Thank you. This way," She led them into the sitting room. "Please, have a seat." She straightened the glasses on her face and brought them each a cup of tea.

"Hevn said you had someone, a Miss Jando Yusagi, that needed protection," Shido started as he took a sip of tea. "We usually do retrievals, but she said that you were desperate."

"Shido," Kazuki started to chastise Shido, but Ryano held up her hand to stop him.

"It's alright." It was Ryano's turn to smile. "She was correct to say so. I just hope that you can help."

"I'm sure we can," Kazuki said.

"What exactly is the problem Miss Kenjiro?" Shido asked.

"Ryano, please," she replied. "I'm a governess here. I've been the governess for the last two years. Miss Yusagi is my charge. She's seventeen. I fear that someone may be trying to kill her."

"What makes you say that?" Kazuki asked.

"Well, you see, Miss Yusagi has taken ill as of recently. She believes she is seeing and hearing ghosts. It has me quite worried actually."

Kazuki and Shido watched Ryano as she fiddled with the napkin on her lap. She was a tall woman, and reminded them both of a young school marm. Her long, brown hair was tied into a loose bun at the back of her head and held in place by long, wooden hair pins. She was dressed conservatively in a pale green shirt and dark green slacks. She wore a-frame glasses that completed the look, as well as a rather serious, yet soft, demeanor. It was an odd look for such a sweet woman.

"At first I thought that maybe she was simply under too much stress, but when we tried to reduce the stress and get her to rest, it didn't help at all. Soon she began complaining that her father was haunting her."

"Her father?" Shido asked.

"Yes," Ryano continued. "Her father died six months ago. She started hearing the ghosts four months ago and started seeing them two months ago. It's been downhill ever since. We've sent her to a psychiatrist, but that's been no help. And no one but her seems to be able to see or hear these supposed ghosts."

"Well," commented Shido. "I can understand your concern, but I am unsure how we fit into this. From what your describing it sounds more like an illness of the mind."

"Yes, that's what I thought as well. Then a few days ago, I saw some people on the hill above the mansion, watching Miss Yusagi. I had seen them before, when Takei and I brought Miss Yusagi back from the doctor, but thought that maybe they were surveying the property line or some such. This time though I had stayed at home while Takei and Kouda took Miss Yusagi. When they returned, I heard a commotion outside and saw that Miss Yusagi was having another one of her spells. I started to turn from the window when I noticed the people on the hill again."

Ryano paused as she looked out the window of the sitting room to the front lawn.

"Anyway," she continued. "I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to take out a pair of binoculars that Miss Yusagi and I usually use to bird watch and get a better look at the people. There were two of them and they weren't dressed as surveyors at all. In fact the only equipment they appeared to have was their own pair of binoculars, with which they were watching Miss Yusagi."

Looking back at Shido and Kazuki, Ryano shuddered deeply. "They were still there two hours later and were still watching the mansion, and have been back three times since then."

"You're thinking that they may be responsible for the spells Miss Yusagi is having?" Kazuki asked.

"Yes," Ryano nodded. "Miss Yusagi is set to turn eighteen in three months and officially inherit all of her father's estate. If something happens to Miss Yusagi between now and then, though, it forfeits to one of her father's business associates. And it would be accurate to say that some of his business associates have been dubious to say the least. With everything that has been happening lately, I'm worried that miss Yusagi might hurt herself. Or worse, that someone else might do it for her."

"So you decided to call for help," Shido said.

"Yes. I was hoping that maybe you could protect her. At least until she gets better. I'm sure that once she has someone good to watch over her that these spells will stop and everything will return to normal."

Kazuki looked over at Shido. "I think we can handle that, don't you?"

Shido nodded. "Yes, I think we can."

"Thank you ever so much!" Ryano stood up and bowed in gratitude.

"Now, now," Kazuki blushed slightly in embarrassment. "There's no need to be formal about it. We are, after all, under you're employ now."

"Very well," Ryano smiled, standing up. "In that case, if you will follow me, I shall introduce you to Miss Yusagi." Shido and Kazuki followed Ryano back out into the main entrance and up a grand staircase that led to the second floor. At the top the small group turned left into a wide hallway, stopping just outside the second door on the right. Ryano knocked and waited for an answer.

"Come in," called a soft voice from the other side. Ryano opened the door and walked in, with Shido and Kazuki close behind her.

"Miss Yusagi? I'd like to you meet some people."

Yusagi turned around. Kazuki inhaled deeply while Shido let out a mild expression of shock. There was no doubt that Yusagi was most likely quite a beauty normally, but at this moment in time, she looked more ill then anything else. Her face appeared slightly hallowed with dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, her skin looked overly pallid and Kazuki couldn't be positive, but he was sure that a girl her age shouldn't be quite that thin.

"Oh no! Miss Yusagi, what did you do?" Ryano cried as she rushed to her charge's side. A long thin line of thick red was running down her left arm, while small penknife sat in her right hand dripping the same color of red.

"What?" Yusagi looked at her governess and then laughed wanly as she realized what was happening. "It's just paint Miss Ryano. Nothing to worry about." Ryano sank to the floor sighing in relief as Yusagi turned to the two men standing in the room.

"Hello. I'm Jando Yusagi. And you are?"

"I'm Fuyuki Shido."

"And I'm Fuchion Kazuki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm sorry about the confusion," Yusagi said as she turned to wipe the paint off of her bare arm, giving the others a glimpse of the painting she was working on. It was a canvas splattered in reds, yellows, and blacks. Brushes and penknives covered in various shades of paint lay next to a small palette. Ryano eyed Yusagi with sudden frustration.

"Miss Yusagi!" Ryano jumped up, hands on hips, brows furrowed and her voice filled with authority. Suddenly the school marm look fit the personality as Shido and Kazuki even stepped back in surprise at this sudden change in attitude. "Aren't you suppose to be resting right now? What are you doing out of bed, young lady?"

Yusagi stopped in mid-wipe, her eyes focused on the floor. "I couldn't sleep," she apologized, her voice faint and filled with fear.

"I ... I ... I saw him again!" she turned and flung herself into Ryano arms as tears burst forth. Her body shook with sobs. "Please make it stop Ryano! Please make it stop! I want it to stop!"

"Oh, Yusagi," Ryano whispered as she held the young girl.

Shido stood watching as rage boiled up inside of him. The idea that someone would do this to such anyone, let alone a young, innocent girl, was unthinkable. He clinched his fists in rage.

Meanwhile, Kazuki, his face a mask to whatever emotions he might be feeling, walked over and gently placed a hand on Yusagi's head.

"Don't worry," he said. "We'll help you."

"Definitely," concurred Shido.

Ryano looked up at the pair. "Thank you," she mouthed, barely holding back her own tears.

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Koroku listened to the rest of the tape, his fingers tapping impatiently on the desk before him. The other men in the room stood silent, waiting to see how their boss might react to this new turn of events.

"So someone else has been watching the house," Koroku growled in disgust.

"Apparently so. You don't think Okaboha had the same idea as we did, do you?" Tashi inquired. Out of all the people in the room, he was the only one that was relaxed. He leaned back in his chair, chewing on a pencil, his black eyes studying the ceiling as though something interesting might pop out of it. He was Koroku's second and ruthless to the extreme. The other members of the organization tended to say that he must have been born without a conscious, but that didn't bother him.

The truth was that nothing really bothered Tashi, as long as there was a steady paycheck in it. He didn't believe in "innocent creatures" much less "innocent people," and thus felt that anyone stupid enough to get in his way deserved to die. Slow and painfully if necessary.

"It doesn't matter," Koroku sneered. "Even if Okaboha was stupid enough to get involved in any of this, once the girl is out of the picture, the majority of Gieko's business holdings will legally be ours anyway."

"But, what if the girl doesn't kill herself," Synabe piped up. "With protectors following the girl, they could keep her alive for months."

"You want to take that one, Tashi?" Koroku laughed.

"If the girl won't kill herself, I'll just have to do it for her. And believe me, no protector is going to stand in my way." As if for emphasis, Tashi bit the pencil he was chewing on in half, spitting out the part in his mouth. It flew through the air, embedding itself deep into the wall and the picture that hung there. When it had stopped, only the eraser poked out, right in the center of Yusagi's forehead.

Koroku continued laughing, with Tashi joining in.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Author's note:** So sorry that this is such a short chapter. This is what happens when you work on multiple projects all at once. I do hope though, that you enjoy it, and I will have more as soon as I get more written! Thank you for the reviews folks! Reviews are always appreciated!_

_Ormandria

* * *

_

Paul sat in the back booth, typing away furiously on his laptop. He knew he had seen that yellow rose symbol somewhere before, though it was a long time ago. One thing he was sure of though, was that there was a lot more going on with this particular retrieval job, then meets the eye.

It had been several hours since everyone had left the Honky Tonk. Ban and Ginji to retrieve the girl's sanity, Hevn to do whatever it was that Hevn did while not scoping out jobs, and the mysterious woman who had come to hire the Get Backers to begin with. Natsumi was keeping herself busy with cleaning dishes behind the counter and humming a small tune.

Paul pulled his glasses down momentarily, to rub his eyes. There was just too much out on the web concerning yellow roses, and none of it had anything to do with what he was looking for. He knew he was missing something, but he just wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Natsumi," he called.

"Hai, Master?"

"What do you know about yellow roses?"

"Yellow roses?" She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "I know that they mean friendship. You send them to people you like, but aren't in love with, to let them know that you're thinking about them and wish them well."

"Wish them well?" Paul asked, looking up. "You mean, like if their sick?"

"Sick, or in need of good thoughts or protecting," she returned happily.

"Ah! That's it!" Paul looked back at his computer and began typing once again. "Thank you Natsumi."

"You're welcome."

The bell above the door jingled as the door opened, and Natsumi looked up to see Himiko walk through.

"Welcome, Himiko-san," she bowed.

"Hello, Natsumi," Himiko replied. "Where are Ban and Ginji?"

"Out on a job, I'm afraid. Did you need to talk to them?"

"No, not really. I just had some free time on my hands and thought I would stop by for some coffee."

Himiko sat down at the bar. "I was just surprised they weren't here. Usually they're trying to con Paul out of dinner about this time."

"Speaking of dinner," Paul interjected without so much as looking up. "Can I hire you to take some out to them?"

"What?" the courier looked at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Like a common delivery girl? No offense Natsumi."

"None taken," the young girl commented cheerfully.

"Actually, I was thinking you might be able to deliver something else along with it," Paul said as he turned the computer slightly so that Himiko, who had stood up to walk towards him, could see what it was he was looking at.

* * *

It had been almost five hours since Ban and Ginji had started stacking out the great, sprawling mansion before them and there was still no activity happening within the walls. Not that Ginji was counting. Granted, they hadn't come straight to the mansion from the Honky Tonk, so there was no way of knowing if anything had happened prior to their arrival. All Ginji knew was that Ban was insistent that they not go down to the house, until they had a plan solidified.

They were getting paid a lot of money for this job, and part of that job was to remain as innocuous as possible. As such, their first stop had been Mugenjou, to see Makubex. Ban had decided that to do this job properly they would need some professional gear and where better to borrow it, then the person that owed them his life, as it were. They had lucked out. Makubex was able to give them some surveillance equipment that he didn't currently need, thanks to the fact that middle and lower towns were now no longer linked to the God of Babylon.

It had made Ginji happy to see his friends a bit more relaxed and happy. So much so, that he had almost forgotten how hungry he was. As if he needed any other reminders, his stomach chose that very moment to growl, informing him that it had indeed been too long since their last meal.

"Four hours and still nothing," Ginji whined. "Can we take a break and eat now?"

"Can't you, just once, stop thinking about your stomach?" Ban said in exasperation. "If we don't get this job done, we won't be eating for a while."

Ginji didn't hear him though. His eyes were focused on the bright light headed straight for them. He quickly started tapping Ban on the shoulder.

"Uh, Ban?"

Ban shrugged off Ginji's hand and ignored him.

"Ban? Ban-chan?" Ginji repeated more urgently, once again tapping furiously on his friends shoulder.

"_Ginji!_ _Stop it already, will you?"_ Ban turned to Ginji, pushing his friends hand away again in anger and stopped cold to watch the vehicle approach. He groaned as he realized who it was.

"Can you _please_ turn that thing off before the whole world knows we're here?" he demanded before Himiko had even come to a complete stop.

"Sorry," she shrugged indifferently, turning off the engine and pulling her helmet off.

"Ah! Himiko-san! It's you!" Ginji cried as he leapt forward to embrace the courier. Just as he reached her though, she quickly pushed a large package into his arms instead. Himiko had learned her lesson long ago about letting Ginji get too near her.

When he had been in the hospital, after a particularly stupid accident in her opinion, she had made the mistake of trying to assist him while everyone else was busy with various business of their own in and around the hospital. Much to her dismay, Hevn and Natsumi happened to peek in and made their own assumptions about the pair. It had taken Himiko nearly a full month after to convince the two women that she and Ginji were not in fact a couple. Even now, they still liked to occasionally pick on her about it, which only tended to irritate her more.

Ginji looked at the pro-offered package and immediately began drooling.

"Food? Ban-chan, it's food!" he asked. "Oh Himiko-san! Thank you!"

"Don't thank me," Himiko stated as she pushed him away again. "Paul sent it over for you. Thought you might be getting hungry."

"Why?" Ban asked, suddenly suspicious. "I thought he wasn't going to give us anymore food until our tab was paid."

"Apparently someone likes you, because according to Paul, your tab has been paid," Himiko shrugged lightly, tossing a second identical package to Ban.

Ban opened the package and sniffed at it a bit to ensure that it was, in fact, food. The smell was just the trigger his stomach needed to pick up growling where his best friend's had left off.

"Alright," he conceded. "I'll bite. Who paid?"

"Don't you know?" Himiko mused, enjoying herself. "The woman who hired you for this job."

"What?" Ban and Ginji both sputtered in unison as the latter nearly choked on his food.

"She paid your tab, and left the rest of your payment for this job with Paul," she grinned wickedly.

"And let me guess," Ban commented, his voice tinged with skepticism. "You and Paul, out of the graciousness of your hearts, just suddenly decided that Ginji and I needed dinner, so you both took it upon yourselves to supply us with it, forthwith?"

"Actually no," Himiko replied. "I'm here because I'm a courier first and foremost and because Paul hired me in that regard. Paul, on the other hand, put the dinner in as a side to the real delivery."

She pulled a small envelope from the back pocket of her pants and handed it to Ban. Wiping his hands off, he took the envelope and opened it.

Ginji stopped eating long enough to watch Ban as he skimmed the three pages of content that he had pulled out. He was waiting for his friend to show some sign of life. He knew that the less Ban said about something, the more important it was, and Ban was sitting in dead silence, rereading the same three pages over and over again. Without so much as a word, he thrust the pages at Ginji, catching the younger retrieval specialist off guard.

Ginji read them over himself and took a deep breath.

"Wait a minute," he said in a serious voice. "I don't understand. According to this we were hired by a Protector?"

"Not just any Protector," Ban conceded. "But The Protector. The Guardian."

"Which means that the girl who hired us," Ginji started.

"Most likely no relation to the girl she sent us to help," Ban finished for him.

Ginji pushed his food aside and peered down at the house in the distance, where Ban was also looking.

"So what do we do now?" Ginji asked.

"We do exactly what we were paid to do and retrieve this girl's sanity. You heard Himiko, we've already been paid in full. Even if we wanted out of the job now, we couldn't back out."

Himiko looked back and forth between the pair, feeling slightly confused. She had no idea who this Guardian was, but apparently these two did. What made matters more confusing is that she definitely had not expected such cool reactions from them. It was more like Ban to get mad about something this. He had essentially been lied to by the woman who had hired him, but instead of getting angry, he seemed more concerned then anything. And Ginji was now totally ignoring the food she had brought, as if he had lost his appetite. It was very uncharacteristic of the duo. Himiko shook her head and cleared her throat to remind Ban that she was still standing there.

Ban glanced up. "Oh, Himiko, sorry, I forgot you were there."

"So it would seem," she returned. Silence ensued.

"So, um, why are you still here?" Ban finally asked.

Sighing, Himiko held out her hand. "Because you owe me for the delivery."

"What?" Ban cried in surprise. Himiko mused at the amount of emotion he put in that one shock, when moments earlier he had been so calm and collected. The irony was not lost on her as she grinned broadly.

"Didn't I tell you? Paul mentioned that you were getting paid a very nice sum of money for this job, on top of your tab being paid, and that therefore, you would be supplying my courier fee. It is only fitting since the information, and food, I delivered was to assist you on this job."

Ban rested his head in his right hand as he took a long drag off his cigarette. "Well, unless you brought the payment with you, you'll just have to wait until the job is over."

"That's fine," Himiko said, sitting down on the ground with the Get Backers.

"What are you doing?" Ban's voice was strained with irritation.

"I'm doing exactly what you said. I'm waiting for my payment. Until I see money, I'm not letting you out of my sight," she continued to smile mercilessly.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:** Just a quick note to say Thank You for the wonderful reviews guys! Please keep them coming! It is nice to know that people are enjoying the story;-)_

_**Ormandria

* * *

**_

Yusagi thrust herself up from her bed, her nightgown bathed in sweat. She had heard it again. Panicked, she looked around the room, waiting for what she knew was coming. It didn't take long before a soft, pale blue light began to form at the end of her bed.

"No, no, no," she began to whimper desperately, clasping her hands over her ears in a vain attempt to silence the moans that echoed within. She began to rock rapidly back and forth, her pleas getting louder with each passing moment.

"Yusagi…," the voice said. "Your fault, Yusagi…. Your fault…."

The blue coalesced into a more solid form of a large, rotund man with an menacing glare on his face.

"You did this to me…. It's all your fault," repeated the specter. Tears streamed down the young woman's face as her fear continued to build. The ghost walked into the bed, straight toward her, his voice growing louder and meaner. Bloodied flesh hung from the bones of what appeared to be her father's corpse. A stale stench of rot hung in the air as he leaned down into her face. The terror in Yusagi finally reached its crescendo as she screamed aloud in utter horror.

* * *

Shido and Kazuki both bolted upright from their positions on the dual couches. Without a second thought and in a unison manner that belayed their years of working together, they ran straight down the hall to Yusagi's room, throwing open the door and turning on the lights.

There she sat, curled in a fetal ball, rocking rapidly on her heels. Her paler was whiter then anything the two protectors had ever seen. She had passed screaming and gone into hyper-ventilating, her body shuddering from the terror she still felt coursing through her veins.

"Miss Yusagi!" Kazuki cried as he reached over to hold her in the hopes of calming the young woman down. Instead of calming though, she began flailing in his arms uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, Shido ran to the window of the room, pushing back the curtains in the hope that he might find the window open and tampered with. He wasn't so lucky. The window remained closed and locked from the inside, and after a quick search of the room, during which time Ryano and two men flew into the room as well.

Kazuki had finally managed to get Yusagi calmed down enough so that she breathed more normally, though she was still overcome with body-shaking sobs.

Ryano ran over to her charge and began to consol her.

"What happened?" asked the younger of the two men that had barged in with her. He had short, brown hair and striking blue eyes and looked to be in his early twenties. The older man appeared to be in his mid to late fifties with a receding hairline and a thin mustache. Though his hair appeared to have once been dark brown, it was now speckled with grey, as was his mustache.

"Isn't it obvious?" cried Ryano. "She had another spell!"

"I'm not so sure about that," replied Shido, thoughtfully. He looked back at Kazuki, who nodded in agreement.

"Who are you?" the beast master looked at the two men who still stood in the door in their robes and slippers.

"So sorry sir!" bowed the elder of the two. "My name is Meroko Takei, and this is my son, Kouda."

Kouda bowed as well, though Shido noticed that he never took his worried eyes off of Yusagi.

"If I may ask," Takei queried, standing back up. "What did you mean that you weren't sure?"

"Simple," Shido began. He was interrupted however by a sudden loud peeking on the bedroom window. Shido quickly walked over and opened the window, letting a large black crow hop in and land on his extended hand.

After a brief moment of what appeared to the others as his simply staring at the bird, who cawed at him several times, Shido turned to his friend and partner.

"Kazuki," he said with a slight smile on his face. "We have company."

"Someone we know?" asked Kazuki, recognizing the look on Shido's face.

"Yes," came the reply.

Kazuki looked from Shido back to the girl in his arms and then back at Shido. "Do you think you can handle it then?" he asked.

"Of course," nodded Shido. "You stay here and watch the girl, and I'll go see what they want." With that he climbed out of the window, giving no concern to the fact that he was on the second story of the expansive house, and began to head toward the distant hill.

* * *

"Damn it!" exclaimed Ban as he watched the lights turn on in the darkened house. "Something's going on."

"What?" yelled Ginji in excitement. He tried to wrestle the binoculars away from Ban but only succeeded in getting hit on the head with them. "Ow!"

"Will you two stop it?" asked Himiko, utterly annoyed with the pair. She had sat here and watched the two of them for the past three hours and all they seemed to do was either fight or, in Ginji's case, whine. How they ever put up with each other was wonder. What was more, was how they ever managed to get anything done. Of course, she had to admit that once they stopped fighting with each other and started fighting other people, they did become a formidable team.

If they didn't then there was no way that they would ever have been her, No Breaks and Akabane so long ago.

"If you don't like the way we operate, you can always go home," Ban growled at her.

"What, and miss all this excitement? Never. Besides, as I said earlier, I'll leave when I get my money."

"You're money is back at the Honky Tonk!" Ban snapped. "Why don't you go there and get it from Paul?"

"Because Paul won't hand it over to anyone but you." Himiko leaned in toward Ban. "What's going on Ban? You're acting even surlier then you usually do. What about that message I gave you upset you so much?"

"It's none of your concern," he replied.

Himiko looked over at Ginji, who pointedly avoided her gaze.

"All right," nodded Himiko. "If that's how you want to play it, we'll play it that way. But just so you know, you've just given me another reason to stay, because I won't leave until I know exactly what's going on."

Ban lowered his binoculars and sighed. Getting up he walked away from the hill and lit another cigarette.

"Fine," he waved his hand in disregard. "Do what you want. I don't care."

Ginji looked anxiously between his two friends. Himiko could tell he wanted to say something but was worried about it. For several minutes the courier and the two Get Backers said nothing to each other. The only sound was the distant cawing of a crow.

"Ban," the blonde Get Backer finally broke the silence in a quiet, thoughtful voice.

"Ginji?"

"Can I have the binoculars now?" he asked in a loud, pleading voice.

Ban looked over at Ginji in shock at the sudden turn of events, while Himiko just sighed. This was, after all, Ginji. He always found a way to break the tension in situations like this. It was his childlike exuberance that helped him get away with it.

"Sure," Ban tossed the binoculars at his friend with a slight life.

"Thanks!" Ginji caught them in mid air and turned to use them, only to find himself suddenly staring directly into another well-known face as it headed up the hill.

Himiko noticed it too, but before either could call Ban's attention to the approaching person, it flew into the air with lightening speed and landed full-force on the ground next to them.

Ban swirled, his hands in position, ready for a fight.

Shido stood up and looked at the group.

"Shido!" Ginji cried, throwing his arms around his friend in a huge hug. It took Shido off-guard, but he quickly regained his composure and pushed Ginji off. Then he focused back on Ban.

"What are you doing here Snake Bastard?" he asked.

"We're here on a job, Monkey Tamer. What about you?"

"A job? Are you now taking on jobs to torture young girls? You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Torture?" Ginji looked at Shido. "You're wrong Shido. We're not here to torure anyone. We're here to …."

"Don't bother trying to explain anything to the Monkey Tamer, Ginji. He's too thick-headed to be able to make since of any of it anyway."

"Why you," Shido crouched down, ready top leap at Ban, who lowered himself into an equally offensive position.

"Stop!" Ginji cried, putting himself in between the two. He turned to Shido, his face serious. "Shido, we're here because we were hired to retrieve something for a young woman who lives in that mansion. Now please, tell us why you're here."

Shido stood up and nodded. "Very well. Kazuki and I were hired to protect the mistress of the house. A young woman named Miss Yusagi."

"Miss Yusagi?" Ginji asked, surprised. "Ban, that's the same girl we're here to help!"

"I heard," replied Ban.

"Well, this is getting interesting isn't it?" asked Himiko.

"Are you here with them?" Shido queried.

"Yes and no. I'm here until they give me the money they owe me and they tell me what exactly the hell is going on."

"I see. So you're going to be here awhile then." Ginji and Ban both looked utterly dejected as they watched the exchange.

"Pretty much," Himiko nodded knowingly.

Shido turned his attention back to Ban and Ginji.

"What are you suppose to retrieve, if I might ask?"

Ginji looked at Ban, waiting for acceptance, before he answered. "We were hired to retrieve her sanity. Someone believes that someone else is trying to drive her insane. That someone wants us to prove it."

Himiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ginji had made sure he didn't tell his old friend anymore then he needed to, and for the young blonde man, that was almost completely out of character. It meant that whatever was going on was more serious then she initially thought.

"Who hired you?" Ginji asked in return.

"The girl's governess. She also believes that someone is trying to drive her insane and wants us to protect her from that someone."

"Well then," said Ban in his bargaining voice. "It seems to me that technically our jobs don't overlap to the point of interference. We were both hired by separate people, for different jobs that ultimately have the same goal in mind."

"To save Miss Yusagi from whoever is after her," Shido finished.

"Seems there's only one thing to do then," Ban continued.

"Put aside our differences until after we've both completed our jobs," responded Shido.

Ban nodded and the two held out their hands to shake. Ginji and Himiko could tell that while they said they were putting aside their differences, it was not completely. The handshake lasted a good two minutes with both of them tightening their grips continually until the veins in their necks popped out. When they finally let go, both men turned their backs to each other to silently swear and rub their injured hands, without letting the other know that they had been hurt.

When that was down, the ever expanding group made their way down the hill toward the mansion. It was time for Ginji and Ban to meet the girl they were suppose to prove was indeed sane.

* * *

Aiyana watched from a distance as the group made their way to the house. It wasn't exactly what she had been hoping for, but it solved two problems at once. One was that it brought the two groups together, so that they were all there to protect the girl, instead of at each other's throats fighting. Second, it got the Get Backers into the mansion. The sudden appearance of Lady Poison was even better. Aiyana had heard of the courier and knew that she, with her seven poisons, would be a great boon to the group protecting Jando Yusagi.

She was feeling a great deal of relief. She was positive for a moment there, when the others had been hired, that everything was going to fall apart, but it was going rather well. With the job in the hands of these people, she was positive that there was nothing to worry about. Still, she needed to keep an eye on things. After all, there were other factors to consider that had not been taken into account. The main one being that she and Sakuwai had absolutely no idea which of the many factions that Gieko had been involved with were the ones trying to get to Yusagi.

All that Aiyana could do right now though, was to sit back and watch. That and continue to pray to Buddha that these men and this woman would be able to save that young woman ….


End file.
